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Is the holiday season the most wonderful time of the year? Or the most stressful time of the year? It can be both. The New Jersey State Bar Association’s Member Assistance Program hosted a free webinar this week to provide tools for navigating the holiday season, which can be stressful for a variety of reasons. “The holidays are meant to be a fun and enjoyable time, but stress is most likely to happen. It’s a matter of how to mitigate that,” said Shaunta Clark, a senior counselor at Charles Nechtem Associates, which administers the assistance program. Holiday stress can come from a wide range of factors including stressful schedules, seasonal ...

The following is written by Ray Ortiz, Senior Attorney Counselor for the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program, and was published as part of NJLAP's Lawyer Well-Being Newsletter. To have the newsletter come directly to your in-box, request to subscribe by emailing [email protected] . There are people, places and things that we have no control over. There are also events in our lives that are unwelcome and painful and also out of our control. I was at my doctor's office waiting to be seen. I picked up one of those magazines that were posing a question to those 80 or over as to, what is the secret of a long life? One of the responders in the article was ...

Laurie Santos, professor of psychology, and Tamar Gendler, professor of philosophy and cognitive science, both at Yale University, wrote an article recently entitled “2014: What Scientific Idea is Ready for Retirement?” In the article they talked about the G.I. Joe Fallacy. It refers to the 1980's children's show and its repeated end of show tag line uttered to Johnny, Tommy, Mary, Alice, etc.: “Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.” We've heard the expression, “Knowledge is power. “While it may be true in many areas, it is not the whole story when it comes to making lasting and productive changes in our lives. Knowing something cognitively or intellectually ...

Join the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program's Networkers Without Borders for a Zoom webinar this Friday, April 24 at 1 p.m. entitled "Five Habits That Build Resilience & Enhance Well-Being." REGISTER HERE. The program will include successful leaders sharing well-being habits that help them inspire, motivate, and mentor in the workplace, no matter what the profession. In this presentation, NJLAP's Noreen Braman will focus on five important habits leaders need in their well-being “toolkit” to help build resilience for those times when stress can be overwhelming. They are: Mindfulness , starting with a definition of what it means to be mindful, ...

The following piece is part of the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program lawyer well-being newsletter email. If you are interested in getting these emails, sign up here. A recent report by CNN highlights a troubling issue caused by the COVID19 pandemic – a sharp rise in the number of prescriptions filled for anxiety medications. Although the increase leveled off, it remains much higher than it was before the pandemic. According to the Anxiety and Depression Society of America : “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every ...

Note: The following piece is written by Paula Sawyer, Senior Attorney Counselor at the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program Those of us at a certain age might remember the Elvis Presley version of “ Are You Lonesome Tonight,” the popular tune written way back in 1926 by Roy Turk and Lou Handman. The lyrics, written almost a century ago, are very relevant today, and contain the line “Are you sorry we drifted apart?” During this unprecedented event of separateness and isolation, should this be the time in our lives when we connect with those in our past from whom we drifted? Do you remember your life B.C. ( B efore C OVID19)? How many times ...

While the New Brunswick offices of the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program (NJLAP) are currently closed, it remains ready and available to assist lawyers, judges, law students and law graduates with both personal and professional well-being issues. NJLAP is available by phone at 800-246-5527 and is also maintaining a constantly updated COVID-19 web page linked at the top of its home page at njlap.org . “As the free and confidential resource assisting New Jersey lawyers for the past 25 years, NJLAP is reaching out during this emergency to remind attorneys, judges, law students and law graduates that they are not alone,” said William John Kane, director ...